Israeli siblings Ron and Leah Polonsky chase Olympics from Bay Area rivals Stanford and Cal
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — With nearly identical ear-to-ear smiles, Ron and Leah Polonsky stroll through campus speaking Hebrew as they head for the Stanford pool relishing a rare chance to catch up in person given their hectic schedules.
Ron swims for Stanford. Leah competes at rival California, in nearby Berkeley. The Polonskys were ballroom dancers as young children in Haifa, Israel, before switching to swimming. Even though their colleges are separated only by the San Francisco Bay, it’s the farthest apart they have ever been.
“It was really nice to move together and start together, although it was hard because it was our first time separated,” Leah said. “He tried to come here, I tried to go there, but it didn’t really work out. But I think it’s good for us to go separate ways maybe. I would love to be with him on the same team, but I don’t think it’s something that’s necessary.”